Along with several assistants, Old Man Obee is in charge of guarding the Forbidden Forest from intruders. When Ash, Brock and Max approached him to explain that May had been carried by a Skarmory inside, Obee debated as to whether or not to allow them inside the forest. Ignoring him, Ash and Pikachu went inside. Obee explained to Brock and Max that the Forbidden Forest used to be overrun by Pokémon Trainers, and it was closed to the public because of that.

Despite this, Obee agreed that May needed to be rescued, and opened the gate temporarily to allow her rescue. Once the operation had been complete, Obee apologized to the Grass Pokémon inside, saying he hoped that they would forgive him.

Pokémon

Poochyena (×3)

Obee's Poochyena were used to track down Ash and May after they got lost in the Forbidden Forest. When Team Rocket came by and caused trouble with their robot, they used Shadow Ball to destroy the robot's Right Hand while Venusaur finished it off with its SolarBeam.